Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
I don't care about rewards or recognition. When I have a good experience I want to share it to help the establishment. When I have a negative experience it gives me a way to vent my frustration. I don't expect any rewards from a restaurant for giving five stars. However, restaurants & repair facilities, etc. all appreciate a positive review. It makes them all smile when I show them how many views there are to pictures I have posted.
Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
Hi Ron,
We all have different reasons that motivate us. It is highly altruistic to want to share information and help others. Rewards and recognition have little meaning. In fact, some people would find these trappings as a negative. I am sure that everyone appreciates these generous souls. However, not everyone is that evolved. In an age of instant gratification and the need for personal fulfilment, many others need to be motivated. Everyone is different.
From observation, there are many people out there that are doing Google Local Guides for the Levels and Points. Many people stop once they reach a certain threshold. It is fairly obvious that they need higher levels of achievement to continue.
The funny thing is that it would not take much to bring out the competitive side. Just being given higher levels without any kind of reward would suit. Sure, it would help to have higher rewards, but it is probably not required.
So, congratulations on the way you look at it. Just keep in mind that not everyone is like you.
Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
I think just adding levels just makes the goals for new reviewers further off. Badges for specific work (writing reviews, being consistent, etc) might nuance what people are good at ('oh, this person has an award for photos viewed, maybe I should look at their other photos') without raising the bar for newcomers to the point that people don't even try. This also might help keep people from gaming the system as much, if the badges are just available for differentiation and not as level requirements per se.
Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
Something odd is going on with being able to share photos. It is possible to see someone's collection but only if the owner has shared the link or if you know places that the Local Guide has reviewed or taken pictures. There is no mechanism for seeing Local Guide content from profiles here. When asked about this, the reason was privacy. Given that the photos and reviews are public, the argument for privacy seems strange. It tends to mean that there must be another reason. Maybe it has to do with restricting unhealthy competition.
The badges sound like a different approach that could work. Don't know. Still would like higher levels. Does not seem that it would discourage new people. Most classifications have limits. Not everyone wants to be at the top. However it does not mean that they will not start. Most likely they will find a stopping point in the middle. The balance of effort versus reward is key.
For the people at the top of the levels, it can be hard to accept that there is nothing left to achieve.
Inertia is strong. The longer it stays the same, the more people will wander off. It is hard to keep it fresh.
I can appreciate the arguments against higher levels. If people really do not see a level 6 or above, then obviously I am the minority. There is still hope though.
I would expect some reaction from Google Local Guides this year. Not sure about that though.
Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
I agree fully here. I'd prefer to have badges for unique and hard to accomplish tasks rather than just contributing the same stuff 1000, 2500, or 5000 times.
50 craft fairs? Let's do it. 1000 restaurants? Challenge accepted.
When will it end though? Let's say they add level 6-10, once people reach level 10, then what? With leveling system the craving will always be there, and there will be no end. Rather than more levels, I would rather have individual badges for different kind of accomplishments (i.e. review 50 fast food restaurants, upload 100 photos, edit 25 places, for example).
Personally I think Local Guides should keep contributing for the idea that what they do will improve information and we basically help each other (and not for the sake of chasing points), but I understand that might be too idealistic. So yeah I agree some kind of gamification is needed to keep people motivated.
Personally I know many people who have reached just above 500 points and have stopped contributing.
So what if people drop out because they no longer get points?
As a guide I do not see a shortage of new recruits with a fresh perspective.
As a tourist I like the idea of a filter that gets rid of the people who are only in it for points - I would have increased confidence in the quality of the information provided by the people that remain.
Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
Frankly, I have slowed my pace of contribution considerably after reaching level 5. There isn't any real reason for me to do free work for Google now that there are no more benefits coming my way. Let them pay an employee for that.
I do like helping out local business owners, so I add reviews and photos to assist in that manner. But I would do that basic service just for the good karma anyway.
Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
I would probably work harder if the benefits seemed more equally weighted. If you don't live in New York or San Francisco, it seem like there isn't much on offer these days. That's fine, but it means that reviews get shuffled to the back sometimes.
Re: Local Guides program needs Level 5+ and beyond
So what if people drop out because they no longer get points?
Oh but Google cares.
1 thing slightly missing from this I think is Google perspective.
I don't work for them or anything but you have to ask why do Google bother with Local guides program? They want to more people to use maps as that makes them money through search selling API, special access for business etc. To do that they need it to be really good which includes up to date listings, photos reviews amongst other things. So having a way for us to do it for free is great for them.
I have to say Local Guides has proved a good idea for that for me. I only learned about it after uploading some panoramas through Streetview and getting a mail telling me I had 30 points and going from there.
Back to the above comment if it's the case that there is a noticeable drop-off in reviews after people reach certain thresholds that's a major problem for Google as I bet you anything Level 5 local guides provide a disproportionate amount of reviews etc.
I think some of the ideas are above are good. I'm surprised they don't copy more ideas from TripAdvisor as let's face it it's probably a big inspiration. None of the levels there mean anything but they have 6. They have different badges for restaurants, hotels, attractions etc. I also get monthly mail showing me a leaderboard of the area I'm in.
The key is to gamify it so that people want to add reviews and information but not do it in such a way as people just add nothing reviews to gain points. It's a balancing act.
I don't think there is any harm adding extra levels even if you don't offer any perks with it.
2022
